April 16th. Regulations prohibit releasing a patient who has undergone anesthesia to be released to an Uber. I needed a trustworthy person to bring me back to my hotel, which was an hour away. Intervention 3 – Earlier in the week, a former colleague posted on FB, an extreme rarity, that his wife had cataract surgery in San Francisco. I have not seen Dave in over six years, but if you are lucky, you have a friend that you can designate as your emergency contact and will drive 3 hours to pick you up from surgery and drive you back to your hotel to recover safely.
Back in an Uber, I traveled to Oakland. Was it my imagination, or was the black oil getting worse? Trying to ease the anxiety and not strain my eyes, I noticed the driver had tinted windows. From inside, the effect was a mellow lavender, and against the sunlight of the afternoon sky, it appeared to spotlight rainbows. I was able to grab the calm and hold it close.
The pre-op room was empty. A nurse handed me the gown and a plastic bag for my shoes and valuables. She walked me through the process and dilated my eyes. The anesthesiologist in a very flowery cap explained that I would be asleep initially and wake up slowly. A young doctor came in and explained my various options, to which I responded, “What would you do if you were me?” and put my faith in her.
During surgery, I woke to voices and a feeling of claustrophobia because of the blanket covering my face, and then I drifted away. Two hours later, I was face down in the recovery room. The doctor repaired the six tears, attached the retina, and inserted an SF6 short-term gas bubble that would hold my retina in place while it healed. The surgery was a success, and now the recovery was up to me.
Groggy, I was wheeled to the street with my head down and passed to my friend and his wife for the hour-long drive back to Santa Clara. For the next three days, I laid on my stomach with my head inside a foam pillow, keeping it still. When I did get up, I had to keep looking at the floor and was reminded of my dog looking for food along the floor.
foursetsofeyes 